Ransom
by TheImaginativeFox
Summary: When a new crime boss comes to Gotham, they need to take out the two big threats; Bruce Wayne and Batman. No, this person didn't want to kill them, this person wanted to use them. But to do this, they would have to break them. The best way to do that would be to take something dear to them. Once Richard Grayson is Kidnapped, the only way to get him back is to pay the ransom; Robin.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I've had this idea for a while, and just had to write it. It's my first chapter story for Young Justice, but I hope you guys like it :)**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing **

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><p>That morning, Dick Grayson was rudely awakened by his loud alarm clock, signifying him it was time to wake up and get ready for school. He rolled over and turned the alarm off, desperately wanting to just pull the covers over his face and go back to sleep. He was especially tired that morning, because last night he and Batman were patrolling late, and it and been raining hard like it had every night that week. That, and his sleep was interrupted by nightmares. Joker had broken out of Arkham earlier in the week, and they just got Joker back last night, sporting a few injuries. Dick wasn't injured, aside from a few bruises, but he barely even noticed those anymore. It had been a long, tiring week, but Dick liked being busy, especially if it was Robin related.<p>

Richard wasn't feeling his best that morning either, he felt slightly feverish, like he was starting to come down with something. Plus, he had only gotten a few hours of sleep, but it was a Friday and he had a few tests to take in school, so he slowly dragged himself out of bed and started his morning routine.

Once he was showered and dressed, he started down the stairs to grab some breakfast before Alfred took him to school. Richard sat down at the table, greeting Bruce while taking some for the cereal that was placed on the table. He had already started pouring the milk over it as Alfred brought in some toast and two strawberry banana smoothies.

"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce said, looking up from the paper he had been reading as Alfred sat down the smoothie in front of him, while also taking some toast and putting some butter and jam on it.

"Yeah, thanks, Alfred," Dick said, taking a sip of the smoothie and reaching for some toast as well.

"It was no trouble, sirs," Alfred smiled, walking out of the room to clean up before taking Richard to school.

"I should probably head to work, I have a meeting today," Bruce spoke up after finishing his breakfast," Have a good day at school, Dick,"

"Bye, Bruce," Dick waved. He heard him talking to Alfred about something and then he saw him head for his car. Not too much later, he had decided he didn't want any more of his breakfast. Alfred appeared ready to take him to school, giving him an odd look for not finishing his breakfast, but blew it off.

"It is time we left, if you wish to arrive on time," Alfred told him, as Dick pulled on his school jacket.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Dick assured, grabbing his bag before walking over to the car door that Alfred was currently holding open. It was a quiet ride to school, each of them making a little small talk before their minds started to wonder to other things.

Dick was beginning to wonder if he had finished the homework he was assigned last night. Normally, it wouldn't have even been a question, but Robin had been busy last night and wasn't sure if he had finished the homework before falling asleep on his desk or not. He knew Bruce had come in and had Dick move to his bed, but was the homework finished before that happened?

Then, the car was parked, and Alfred was once again holding his door open. He let out a sigh, getting ready to face another boring day at school. He hopped out of the car and waved goodbye to Alfred, and then continued to enter the gates of Gotham Academy.

"Hey, Dick," Barbara smiled at him.

"Hey Babs," he greeted.

"Long night?" she asked him.

"You have no idea," Richard replied with a laugh.

"Yeah, same here. I had practice and then I waited up for my dad, he was talking to Batman about a case," she mentioned, excitement growing in her eyes. Barbara had a tendency to stay up for her dad if he went out when he didn't expect to, especially if Batman was involved. The two of them both admired Batman, and liked to talk about him every once in a while.

"Cool! So, when do you get to meet him?" Dick asked her.

"I'm still working on it," she admitted.

"Of course you are," he teased, smirk crossing his lips.

"I'll still meet him before you do," Babs replied, childishly sticking her tongue out at him.

"I doubt that, besides, I've basically met him already," Dick explained, recalling the memory of when Batman had saved him when he was caught in a fire.

Last year, he went on a field trip to see a play with his class. The place had caught fire thanks to the Penguin. Batman had shown up and had brought some people out of the building. Dick had also been trying to help the others get out, along with a few other people who were trying to help. But before he could get out, some of the building fell on top of him. Batman had found him unconscious and brought him over to the paramedics, where Bruce Wayne met up with him after Batman had left. Barbara had run over to explain that she heard the Batman had brought him out, which the paramedic confirmed was true. Bruce and Dick both found it funny, and played it off smoothly.

"I already told you," Babs started, returning the smirk," it doesn't count, because you were unconscious,"

"Closer than you, but I won't count it if you're that jealous. I'll figure out another way to meet the guy," he joked, receiving a playful punch from Barbara.

"Whatever you say," she told him rolling her eyes." Come one, we should get to class."

"So does that mean you admit defeat?" Dick asked.

"Watch it, Grayson," she warned, although he still saw the smile threaten to cross her lips.

They went their separate ways, and Dick took a seat at an open desk, waiting for the bell to ring. He took out his homework, and started to look through it to make sure it was all finished. Luckily for him, almost all of his homework was finished. He just had a few problems he needed to do for his math class, and then he was done. He didn't have math until later, but was bored, and decided to do it now. The teacher had started taking attendance, and began writing some topics on the board by the time he was finished.

The rest of the day stayed the same, he would sit down and wait for class to start, become bored with the slow pace of the class, and then wait for it to finish. By lunch he was really just ready to go home and take a nap, but wasn't everyone?

"Sorry, excuse me," Dick found himself saying as he walked down the hall of students that he was trying to avoid running into.

"Richard," someone brushed his shoulder to get his attention, and so he looked up to see his history teacher. Dick wasn't especially fond of Ms. Alberts, as she was sort of distant and lacked patience. She was also one of those teachers that would purposely call on people who she knew didn't have the answer, while also embarrassing them if she caught them doing something besides paying attention or working on their assignments.

"Hi," he smiled, his head was starting to hurt, and he just wanted to sit down." Was there something you needed?"

"Is this yours?" Ms. Alberts asked, holding out his lunch bag to him.

"Oh, yeah it's mine," he replied, taking it from her. He hadn't even noticed it was missing. He had gone to his locker to grab his lunch and some books so that he could work on his homework he had received earlier that day, and also do some extra, and mostly unneeded studying for the two tests he had later." Where did you find it?"

"Someone saw you drop it and brought it into my room, then I saw you passing by" she explained. He had been holding it under his books, and guessed he just didn't notice as he walked through the crowd of students rushing around.

"Thanks," he said, and she nodded before walking off. He hadn't walked long before someone accidentally ran into him, only this time he made sure he had his lunch grasped in his hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry," someone wearing a nurse's uniform bumped into him. He was carrying a bunch of papers back to the nurse's office. He looked like he was filling in, since Richard didn't recognize him.

"It's fine," Dick brushed it off, giving the man a warm smile.

"Oh, hey, you're Richard Grayson, right?" the man asked excitedly. Yup, definitely a substitute." I'm Nurse Peter, filling in for Nurse Linda. It's pretty cool that you live with Bruce Wayne, he's a big funder for the school, right?"

Richard had met Nurse Linda, she was nice yet firm, but still not as much as Alfred could be when they were injured. Dick had been to the nurses a few times for different reason, Robin when he had to get out of school to help Batman, or even on the rare occasion he had to go home for a real reason." Yeah, he is, so is she sick or something?"

"Yeah, but she'll be fine, I have to get back, have a good day," he waved, and so Dick continued to the lunch room to meet up with Barbara.

"Hello Barbara," he greeted, sitting down and pulling out his lunch Alfred had packed for him.

"Hey, what took you?" she asked, turning a page in her book.

"A substitute nurse bumped into me in the hall and wanted to say hi after he realized who I was," Dick said, starting to pick at his lunch.

"Interesting, anyway, we should do something this weekend. My dad won't be home, so we would have to do it at your place or something," Barbara mentioned.

"Sure, but-" he was cut off.

"But you're busy, so maybe next week," Barbra finished, rolling her eyes." So, what is it this time? A ceremony? Advertising stunt? You and Bruce just doing something? A practice?"

"Something like that," he shrugged, but Barbara had gotten used to the vague answers, even if they annoyed her sometimes. He would be going to the mountain tomorrow, and didn't know when he would be back." I don't know when I'll be back, but I bet we could hang out in the evening,"

"Just call me, so I can make other plans," Barbara told him.

"Good to know I'm so replaceable," by now he had stopped moving his food around, and had decided he wasn't hungry, even though he had only taken a few bites. He didn't know if he was coming down with something, or if he was just tired, but he wasn't feeling very good, and food didn't sound like the best idea.

"Well, now you know," Babs teased, then tilted her head in a questioning way." You feeling okay?"

He wasn't feeling too great, and Barbara thought he was starting to look pale, but now the food in his stomach didn't seem to be agreeing with him." I feel kind of weird,"

"Maybe you're coming down with that bug that's going around," she said. It was the time of year everyone was getting sick, and there was a virus that was going around, but wasn't there always?

"Probably," he decided, giving up on trying to eat and pushing his food to the side.

"Not hungry?" she mentioned, giving him a curios glance.

"Why so interested in how I eat all of a sudden?" Dick snapped, giving her a small glare. He really wasn't starting to feel good.

"You've just been a little off the past few days and now you're not eating." she defended.

"Whatever, it's just been a long week and it's finally catching up to me, okay?" he said, leaning forward and lying on his arms as if he could just fall asleep right there.

"You don't look too good, and if you don't feel well, maybe you should go home," Barbara suggested.

"I don't need to go home, I'm fine." came the mumbled response, and so they sat in silence. But then his stomach lurched and he quickly stood up, hand covering his mouth as he ran to find a bathroom, Barbara quickly following behind him, as a few other students turned their heads to see what was going on.

He knew he wouldn't be able to make it to the bathroom once he reached the hall and felt the vomit rising in his throat. So, he quickly found a trash can and deposited the contents of his stomach into it. He felt Barbara starting to rub circles on his back as he shook slightly and waited for his body to stop heaving.

"Not sick, huh?" she questioned, once he had stopped and leaned against a wall.

"I don't feel good," he said, clutching his stomach.

"Was it something you ate?" she asked, concern written over her face.

"No, maybe, I don't know. My stomach really hurts, and so does my head," he mumbled, as the pain only increased and he felt like he would pass out.

"Let's get you to the nurse," she said, helping him stand up and they started walking towards the nurse's office. Barbara had a feeling this wasn't just a normal bug that was going around. Dick looked horrible, and it was only getting worse, as unwilling moans left his mouth. She wondered if he would need to see a doctor.

"Barbara," came the shaky voice of Dick Grayson, as he suddenly stopped and grabbed her arm.

"Are you okay?" she looked him over as his face scrunched up in pain and confusion. They were almost to their destination, just a few yards away from the door.

"Something's wrong," he told her, and then his eyes started to close shut." it really hurts,"

"Dick? What's wrong?" she practically yelled as he started to fall to the floor before she caught him." Where does it hurt?"

The boy in her arms started to shake as a nurse came out and quickly helped her take Dick into the room.

"What happened?" the man, Peter, asked as they put Dick on a table. The boy was currently fading in and out of consciousness.

"I'm not really sure, he wasn't feeling good yesterday or today, but at lunch he looked really bad and then threw up after he tried to eat lunch," she started." At first I thought he was just sick or it was something he ate, but then he started complaining that something hurt."

"I think he needs a doctor, I'll call an ambulance," he said, reaching for a phone." You can head back, thank you,"

"Will he be okay?" she asked tentatively, trying to get a better look at Richard. He was currently unconscious again, but he still looked like he was in pain.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, it could be his appendix if it's stomach pain," he told her. She didn't know too much about the medical world, but she didn't think it got so bad this quickly, but then again, maybe the kid was good at hiding pain.

Richard let out a moan," I can stay with him until the ambulance gets here, I could help calm him down," Barbara offered.

"No, just leave it to me," he said firmly, and started to assure her out the door. She gave Dick one last glance, and then continued back to the cafeteria, still worried about her friend, but knew if it was serious she would just get in the way. Barbara also made a note to call Bruce later that evening to check on him.

"Hurts," Richard hissed out as he returned to consciousness. He recognized the man from earlier, and was trying to get his attention.

"Calm down, kid," he started, demeanor changing form concerned to annoyed, and maybe even slightly panicked." Your ride's almost here,"

Soon, another man walked into the room pushing a gurney, and Dick was placed onto it and then wheeled out of the building. Once he was in the ambulance, he was a little surprised that the substitute school nurse was coming.

"Told you it would work," the new man said. Suddenly, Richard new something was wrong, and it wasn't just the pain that had spread all over his body." No one even questioned it."

"Fine, you were right." Peter agreed." When is this stuff going to wear off anyway? His moaning is getting annoying, you don't think something might actually be wrong, do you?"

"I don't know, how much did you give him, anyway?" the second man questioned.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter, not enough to kill him." He stated." Although, he keeps passing out, was it supposed to do that?"

"You might've given the kid an overdose if he's passing out. It was just supposed to make him feel sick enough to make him go to the office, and then put him in enough pain to make him really out of it," the other man explained. Now he was starting to really freak out. Richard knew what was happening; he was being kidnapped, and he was in too much pain to talk, let alone escape.

"Great, think it would hurt if I gave him a sedative?" Peter asked, although, Dick figured that probably wasn't even his name.

"Probably best if you don't. It really seems like he's in a lot of pain, it would probably be best if we knocked him out until it wore off, and I bet it won't take much to knock him out now," the man driving the most likely stolen ambulance said.

"Okay," the man shrugged, slightly hesitant, and then he grabbed something and Dick's eyes went wide as he was hit in the head and went unconscious.

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><p><strong>So yeah, that's the first chapter. What did you guys think? I hope it wasn't completely horrible. How do you think he was poisoned? Do you think he'll be okay? Would you like me to continue this? I love hearing thoughts and suggestions, so don't forget to followfavorite/and review!**

**Until next time**

**-TheImaginativeFox**


	2. Chapter 2

**I think I've kept you guys in suspense long enough, or at least longer than I had expected to. Thank you so much for all the support with the last chapter, I hope it continues!**

**Disclaimer: Do I own Young Justice you ask? No, no ownership here, ask DC about that**

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><p>Barbara Gordon understood why she had to leave Dick behind; she would just get in the way, and by the looks of it, things were getting pretty serious. She knew it was probably some school policy or that he was worried she would get squeamish or whatever, but that still didn't shake the feeling that she was abandoning her best friend. It was because of that feeling that she didn't go back to the cafeteria right away, like she had been instructed.<p>

Instead, she waited until she could hear the sirens approach the school, and then got out of the way and watched as a man pushing a gurney ran into the nurse's office. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but soon Richard was moaning on the gurney and being pushed out of the building. Feeling a little more relieved that he was now on his way to a hospital and Bruce would be with him soon, she went back to the cafeteria, even though she had completely lost her appetite.

As she entered the lunch room, Barbara was debating on if it was worth it to try to get out of school early. She did have a few tests to take after lunch, but it wouldn't be hard to get a different time to do them. She wondered if her dad could pick her up, or if she could make her way to the hospital to wait for word on Dick. But then again, maybe Bruce would want to be alone with Dick, and besides, Richard probably wouldn't be up for visitors if he ended up needing surgery.

Weighing her options over again, she sat down at her table and pulled out a book to read. She started to notice how many people were staring at her and beginning to whisper to one another. Barbra had a strong feeling it was about Dick, or rather the lack of. She sighed, then grabbed her bag and stood up, walking out of the building and heading for the courtyard to wait for the bell to ring.

Barbara sat down on one of the benches under a tree and started to read her book again. It wasn't long before she heard footsteps and then someone calling her name," Hey, Barbara?"

"What do you want, Bette?" she chose as her reply. It wasn't that she didn't like Bette, Barbara didn't know her very well. It was mostly that they hung out with different groups, and Babs wasn't very fond of her group. Barbara looked up, and she noticed the new girl, Artemis, was with Bette.

"This is Artemis," Bette continued, giving the girl a small push forward.

"Hi," Artemis waved, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Hi," Barbara greeted, a little curious as to what the two wanted.

"Anyway, we were talking, and Artemis wanted to know something, so we suggested that she just talk to you about it." Bette explained, and Barbara tilted her head a little, signifying for them to continue." Go ahead, Artemis,"

"Uh, so you hang out with Dick, right?" Artemis started a little unsure of herself.

"Yeah, what about it?" Barbara didn't really want to have this conversation. She knew the two of them wanted know what exactly happened back in the cafeteria, and if the kid would be alright.

"I just wanted to know if he was okay," Artemis offered." He didn't really look that good,"

And there it was, just as she thought." I'm sure he'll be fine," Barbara answered.

"So, did he go home then?" Artemis continued. Babs knew that she was just curious, and what happened didn't really look like it was just the flu, Barbara also guessed that the others could hear the sirens, which probably played a part in the rise of curiosity.

"Not exactly, they ended up having to call an ambulance," Barbara answered. She watched as Bette and Artemis looked at each other.

"We thought that's what we heard," Bette stated.

"So was that all you wanted to know?" Barbara questioned. Bette looked like she had settled whatever she really wanted to know, but Artemis looked like she wanted to ask something else.

"Do you know if he's okay?" Artemis asked." I mean, I know he obviously wasn't if they had to take him to the hospital,"

"They didn't really tell me anything," Barbara replied. They did tell her it might be his appendix, but she wasn't going to be responsible for spreading rumors. Dick could explain things himself when he got back, or at least to her anyway.

Then they heard the bell ring, and so Barbara started to pack her stuff up, when Artemis spoke up," Well, if you see him, tell him we hope he's feeling better,"

"I'll pass along the message," Barbara agreed.

"Thanks Barbara, and I'm sure Dick will be fine," Bette said, giving Barbara a reassuring smile. And then the two of them walked off, having a small conversation. Barbara picked up her stuff and headed back to class, wishing that the day would just be over.

oOo

"Mr. Wayne?" he looked up as his secretary opened the door to his office.

"What is it?" he asked her, looking up from the papers he had been going over.

"Gotham Academy is on the phone, something about Richard," she explained.

"Of course," Bruce replied, trying to stay calm as worry threatened to overcome him." I'll take it in here,"

"Right, I'll put it through on the first line," she answered, receiving a quick nod from Bruce before walking out of the room. Soon, his own phone started to ring, and he pushed the first line and picked it up.

"Hello?" he spoke into the phone in a steady voice.

"Ah, Mr. Wayne," he recognized the man on the other end as the principle, Mr. Elliot.

"Something was wrong with Dick?" he questioned, hoping to get to the point and find out what was wrong as quickly as possible.

"Yes, your ward wasn't fleeing well, so Ms. Gordon helped him to the nurse's office. After giving him a small examination, the nurse called an ambulance." Mr. Elliot explained.

"Oh god, is he alright?" Bruce asked quickly, starting to gather some things from his office into his briefcase, getting ready to head to his car as soon as he found out which hospital Dick was heading to.

"I don't have any information on the subject, Nurse Peter went with them to help explain what happened," the man continued. Bruce was becoming even more worried, wouldn't Dick be able to do that himself? But then again, if Barbara had needed to take him to the office.

"What happened? Is he unconscious or something?" Bruce asked quickly, nervousness starting to show in his voice. Sure, Dick didn't look like he had been feeling his best this morning, but he had been like that for a few days, so he assumed it was just a cold, right?

"I was told the boy wasn't very coherent, and he was complaining about a lot of pain when he came in. Nurse Peter said that he guessed it could be something along the lines of appendicitis, but wasn't completely sure since Richard wasn't able to answer most of his questions," Mr. Elliot told him.

"Okay, thank you for calling me, which hospital is he going to?" Bruce asked, trying to calm down, even though it was practically impossible.

"Gotham General," he replied.

"Of course, thanks again," and Bruce hung up, grabbing his keys and heading for the door. He quickly told his secretary that he had to leave and would be out for the rest of the day, and would call to let them know when he would be coming back to the office.

Bruce got into his car, and quickly called Alfred. It wasn't long before the butler picked up the phone and greeted Bruce with a little surprise at his call." Alfred, you need to meet me at Gotham General, something happened with Dick. They think it might be appendicitis, but weren't sure because of how incoherent he was."

A little taken aback at how straight forward Bruce was, Alfred responded," Oh dear, I do hope the young sir is alright, are you there now?"

"Almost," Bruce answered, making another turn.

"Then I shall meet you there," and the two hung up.

Bruce continued to drive for another few minutes, before turning into the parking lot and fining a spot before rushing into the hospital. He quickly found the ER and ran up to the front desk to speak with the receptionist.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she asked kind, Bruce could tell that she recognized him by the way she was looking at him.

"I'm looking for Richard Grayson, I was contacted by his school that they called an ambulance," Bruce explained to the lady.

"Of course," she nodded, starting to type something into the computer." What's the name of the school?"

"Gotham Academy," Bruce answered, how many schools were asking for ambulances anyways?

"Right," she nodded again." I have him in here, but the ambulance hasn't returned yet," Bruce gave her a worried look, so she continued." I'm sure everything's fine, they might have stabilized him before leaving,"

"Okay, you're probably right," Bruce said, although he wasn't really relieved at all." Do you know when they will be here?"

"I assure you that we will do our best, Mr. Wayne." she answered." Now, I just need you to fill out his paperwork about his basic information, medical history, any known allergies, and medication he might be on, and then bring it back up to me,"

"Right," Bruce agreed, taking the clipboard and pen being offered to him and walking towards the chairs to begin filling it out.

He was busy answering the questions on the sheet as he waited for Alfred to arrive. He knew he had to stay calm, and he knew most of the protocol with hospitals, even if he did try to avoid them. As he sat there, he tried to focus on the noises surrounding him, rather than what could be happening to his son at the moment.

The room was filled with people, some moaning in pain, others worrying about who they were there for. The news was also on in the background, but only a few people were actually watching it, and mostly as a distraction. You would also hear the receptionist calling out patients' names to come up to be seen, and a few others to get information on their loved ones.

It wasn't very long until he walked up to drop off the paperwork, and hopefully get some word on Dick. It wasn't easy to try to stay calm in situations like these, especially when he didn't know what was wrong. Usually when Dick was hurt, he was right there with him, or at least knew what was happening when he found out. Bruce was used to having control over situations like this, and was not fond to losing that control and being put in the dark. It was nerve-wracking, and it was something he hoped wouldn't have to happen again anytime soon.

"All finished, Mr. Wayne?" she asked.

"Yes, is that everything, miss?" he asked, looking for a name tag.

"Grace. You can call me Grace," the girl, Grace, smiled at him.

"Will there be anything else then, Grace?" he asked, trying to return a small smile.

"That's everything, we'll call you up when we know a little more," she told him.

"Do you know anything now?" Bruce couldn't help but question.

"I'm sorry, I still don't know anything," Grace explained. He nodded and then went back to his seat. It wasn't much longer before Alfred had shown up. The two sat in silence, listening to the sounds around them. That was when the news caught their attention.

"It has just been spotted that an ambulance has crashed," the news reporter started." Those still remaining in the ambulance seem to be alright with minimum damage, we're going there live,"

The screen switched to a scene were an ambulance looked like it had fallen in a ditch, slightly tilted sideways, but not too much. Two paramedics were standing there, seeming a little confused as they were being interviewed.

"Here we are with two of the paramedics, Frank Mitchell and Derrick Shields, who were on the ambulance during the crash. Can you tell us what happened?" the reporter, Vicki Vale, asked.

"Um, well there were three of us. Two who were going to work on the kid, and then a driver, just like a normal group would have. We got a call to head over to Gotham Academy to get one of the students, Richard Grayson, to the hospital," Frank said. Bruce's eyes went wide. That was his son's ambulance! Where was he now? Was he okay?

"We didn't know much about the situation," Derrick started." But we don't always know a lot before we arrive at the scene. We just got into the ambulance and drove off. It was a new guy driving, he was just starting out here, but had driven earlier this morning and everything had gone fine. We got to the school, and were starting to gather up some supplies when the car filled with gas and we went unconscious."

"Did you see who did it?" Vicki asked.

"Not really, we didn't come to until the ambulance crashed," Derrick answered." When we came around, we saw the guy, but he was wearing a mask."

"Yeah, didn't get a good look at him either, but we saw that there was a nurse already in a van, and Richard Grayson was being carried into it. The driver was also gone," Frank finished." By the time we realized what was going on, the guy drove off."

"When do you think that the kidnapper ambushed the ambulance? Before getting to the school, or after? Or do you think that there was more than one person working on this?" Vicki continued to question.

Saying Bruce was outraged at what he was seeing was an understatement. At the word kidnapper, his brain went into overdrive and he quickly got up from his seat and started for the front desk, with Alfred right behind him. Sure, Dick had been kidnapped before, but not like this. The kid was taken form an ambulance! Had this all been planned? Or were they just taking advantage of the situation? And what if something was seriously wrong with Dick and he needed medical attention?

All of these thoughts swirled around his head as he walked up to the woman and asked one question," Where's my son?"

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><p><strong>And there you have it, the second chapter! So, what do you think so far? Love it, hate it, no opinion? Let me know, I love to hear your thoughts, even if it's just to tell me this completely sucks. Any ideas for the story or tips on how I can improve my writing are also appreciated. Anyway, I hope the interactions were okay in this one, or at least not bad. What did you think about how Bruce found out? Was the news a good idea or not? And what did you think about the conversation between Barbara, Artemis, and Bette? I wanted it to be a little awkward, but not excessively. I figured Artemis would want to know what happened with the little troll, and maybe some hero instincts kicked in so she felt she needed to make sure he was okay. Who knows, maybe they'll become friends at school after this, would you guys like to see that? Are any of you confused about this whole kidnapping yet, or can you see exactly where this is going? Thanks for reading, and don't forget to follow, favorite, and review :)<strong>

**Special thanks to: anon (guest), deadlyaisy8o8, Turtles18, liwen. riosrivera, Dark Sides, XxTheDeadlyBlackxX, supernaturalroxs, HonourProject, NuclearRogue, cupcakejenny, Fate TestarossaH, Sora Moto, kiri711, AltoValGal, Nanna. M, Mickey's Girl (I'm glad the summary was good, and that you think it has potential), Keys is Lazy (guest), Mireilles3, A Small Voice, AStudyinEsmeWho (thanks for checking out another one of my stories), kuroihana16, Immortalis Cruor Elf, NecroBrits, Akari Tatsumi, PhantomGirl1223, Anonymous-Nerds-Unite, Fareway, Bethisafan77 (hope you liked the new chapter), Robins Powers, DemonessOfDepartingSorrows, mappyTS404, BATMANMELTSI, Chimpchar, shycartoonlover, PenguinLover28 (guest), ScarlettN (glad you like the idea), KIMIR (guest), and Guest (guest) for the follows, favorites, and reviews, I really appreciate it :)**

**anon (guest): Thanks for the information and interesting insight **

**Keys is Lazy (guest): I know you said you were 88KeysOfSadism, but I figured I would put this here anyway. Thanks so much for the review, I'm glad you're enjoying it. 88KeysOfSadism has some great stuff that I've really enjoyed reading, so you guys should go check out this authors stuff if you haven't already!**

**PenguinLover28 (guest): So glad you're enjoying it, sorry it took so long to update!**

**KIMIR (guest): Thanks for the review, hope you liked the new chapter :)**

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**-TheImaginativeFox **

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	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for a really bad headache, but I'd be willing to give it away if anyone wants it**

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><p>"You know what to do," the disguised voice of their boss said to the two men in the room through the phone.<p>

"Right," the one, Miles, answered.

"We'll call you when we're ready for the next step," the second, Kyle, replied.

"Good," the voice, also known as Q, agreed." Don't harm the boy too much until you receive further instruction, understood?"

"Understood, Q," Kyle agreed.

"We'll be in touch," and the voice was gone, and Kyle and Miles were left to perform their tasks.

It was supposed to be an easy job. The two of them had gotten the job from a new crime-boss who was just starting to make themselves known in Gotham. They had heard stories about the newcomer, but had never actually met the person. No one really had. The information on the job would be given to you through some other party or message. This person was clearly the untrusting type, or at least until it was decided if he or she would keep you and ask you to join in on their plans.

They were offered a chance to make some extra cash, and if it went well, they could possibly have a permanent place. Things like that were good in Gotham; you got more protection and insurance than you would doing things the "right" way. They could be safe, and so could their families. They each had their own motives for taking on the job, and knowing that, they didn't question each other about why they had agreed to it.

Kyle and Miles didn't know all of the details, but they did know what they had to do. They were given this new drug that their boss had invented. It was a pain-inducer of sorts, and they were also given some light poison to kick-start it. It wasn't very strong, but it was enough to make someone have symptoms of a stomach bug. With the pain-inducer, it would kick it up a notch by making that person more sensitive to pain and making it look worse than just a stomach bug.

They weren't supposed to give themselves away when they did this, or at least not at first. If they could manage it, they should try to make it seem like they were taken along with the kid, and not actually responsible for it.

It was going to have to be done from the inside, so they took their positions; Miles would have to work as a substitute school nurse, and also give some of poisoning to the actual nurse so she would call in sick, and then Kyle would have to be transport, so he got a job for driving ambulances. They both made sure to do this when they were employing a few positions, just to make sure it wasn't too suspicious at a first glance. They had worked these jobs under fake names for a while before they made their move. They were in, and now the easy part was putting it into action.

Getting the poisoning into the kid's system was nothing. It was crowded, and Miles managed to get the kid to drop his lunch. So, he easily opened it and poured a little bit into the food. Then he waited and made sure another student picked it up when they stopped by the lockers. The student walked back into the classroom he had come out of, which also happened to be the one Grayson was in previously, and brought it to the teacher. Then the teacher saw Grayson, and returned it to him. Now Miles just had to get the pain-inducer into him. It just needed skin contact for it to start working. And after talking with Richard for a while, he made sure it had started working, and then went back to the office to wait for the rest to take care of itself.

When Richard Grayson came to the office, he looked worse than expected, and a girl was practically dragging him in. It actually looked reasonable for him to need an ambulance, and he just gave the girl a story of appendicitis. After she left, he called an ambulance, and told the principal what was going on and that he would go with Richard to explain what happened to the paramedics.

When the Kyle got the call about Gotham Academy needing an ambulance, he got into action. He got into an ambulance with two other paramedics and drove off. When they got there, he gave them some knock-out gas and hid them in the front. Then Kyle went to get the kid and his partner. But when they got Grayson into the ambulance, it seemed like he started to panic. They knew if they didn't keep him quiet, the other paramedics would wake up and figure out what was going on. The knock-out gas didn't last very long, and if the kid kept making all this noise, than they would wake up even faster, and they couldn't really give them another dose without their cover being blown.

"Told you it would work," Kyle said, taking off his uniform and showing his clothes he had put under it that morning." No one even questioned it."

"Fine, you were right." Miles agreed, the conversation seeming to gain Richard's attention." When is this stuff going to wear off anyway? His moaning is getting annoying, you don't think something might actually be wrong, do you?"

"I don't know, how much did you give him, anyway?" Kyle questioned.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter, not enough to kill him." Miles stated." Although, he keeps passing out, was it supposed to do that?"

"You might've given the kid an overdose if he's passing out. It was just supposed to make him feel sick enough to make him go to the office, and then put him in enough pain to make him really out of it," Kyle explained. The kid might seem incoherent, but it seemed like he was catching on to what was happening. He was starting to make even more noise, and he was trying to get off the table, but his body was too weak to do it.

"Great, think it would hurt if I gave him a sedative?" Miles asked, looking towards the various medications that were in the ambulance.

"Probably best if you don't. It really seems like he's in a lot of pain, it would probably be best if we knocked him out until it wore off, and I bet it won't take much to knock him out now," Kyle decided offhandedly.

"Okay," Miles shrugged, slightly hesitant, and looked around for something that he could hit the kid with. He was still fading in and out, but he seemed to be trying to fight to stay awake. He knew if he hit him hard enough it could give him a concussion, and he didn't know what would happen with the drug; it could either just make it feel worse or actually make it worse.

He found a small flashlight that paramedics usually used to shine into a patient's eyes to check for dilation. He figured it was light enough, but it would still cause enough pain for Richard to pass out. So he raised it above his head and brought it down, striking the kid on the head. As he did this, Grayson let out a gasp and his eyes went wide.

"He's out," Miles confirmed." Are the paramedics still out?"

"It seems like it, but I think it's wearing off." Kyle replied." Here's the van, let's move him."

Miles and Kyle took the boy off the gurney and placed him into the back of the van. Then, they went back into the ambulance and messed it up a bit to look like there was a fight. The noise successfully woke up the two in the front, and they quickly stood up, remembering what had happened with the gas. But by the time they looked up, Kyle had already pulled down the mask, and had finished "dragging" Miles into the back of the van. Once he was sure he was seen, he then drove off.

It wasn't long before Richard started to moan again, as he tried to bring himself back to consciousness. Kyle spoke up," I thought you knocked him out?"

"I did," Miles started, as the kid's eyes slowly opened and then squeezed shut again from the pain." But a hit to the head doesn't keep someone out long,"

"But I thought they could be out for hours without any severe damage, even if it was pain induced," Kyle said.

"That's just in the movies," Miles explained." If that happens in real life, whether it's pain induced or something like a concussion, you're usually only out for a few minutes at most, unless it caused serious brain damage."

"How did you know that?" Kyle questioned.

"Uh, my daughter hit her head and I asked a doctor when I brought her in. She said that she had a concussion, and I asked why she wasn't out longer, and so she explained it to me," Miles said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I didn't know you had a daughter," Kyle started, and then Wayne's kid started yelling and trying to get out." Keep him quiet!"

"I'm trying!" Miles shouted back, trying to restrain the kid. It seemed he wasn't very incoherent anymore, he probably realized what was happening when they were talking." Keep it down,"

"No," Richard slurred, shaking his head." You don't have to do this, just let me go,"

"Sorry, can't do that right now," Miles said, as Richard continued to move his eyes all around the van. When he realized he was in a different vehicle, he started to panic even more.

"Just knock him out again," Kyle said.

"He'll just wake up again, and we're not supposed to hurt him," Miles said, the kid was curled up into a ball now, the pain seeming to become too much again.

"Wait, I think we have some chloroform, we can give him that. It should keep him out at least until we get to the place, and if not we can just give him more," Kyle said, seeming to gain Richard's attention again.

"I guess, yeah," Miles agreed, and went to grab it. It looked like Grayson was trying to push himself up, but is body wasn't responding thanks to the drug they gave him.

"What did you do to me?" Richard gasped out, realizing that they must be the reason he felt so bad.

"Nothing much, it'll wear off soon," Miles assured, pouring the liquid onto a cloth. He then pushed it against the kid's face, hearing a muffled gasp." Now just calm down."

And soon he was once again unconscious.

oOo

Kyle and Miles sat in the dark, cold room. They were bored as they kept guard, since they didn't have much to do except wait for the kid to wake up. He had been out longer than they had expected, and was currently lying unconscious on the floor. The kid was bound at the wrists and ankles, his hair was disheveled, and he was pale. Occasionally he would shiver or moan, but he wouldn't wake up. They didn't really know what was wrong; the poison should've warn off by now along with the chloroform.

"Maybe you did give him too much," Kyle finally said nonchalantly.

"I don't know, I gave him the amount that Q told us to," Miles answered." Think Q had the wrong amount?"

"Maybe, but we probably shouldn't suggest that when we talk to the boss next," Kyle decided.

"Yeah, that probably wouldn't end well," Miles agreed." Think we should call Q though?"

"We aren't supposed to call until he comes to," Kyle reminded him.

"I know that, it just seems weird. How old is he anyway?" Miles wondered out loud, looking at the kid questioningly.

"Thirteen," Kyle recited, remembering looking over the file." But he looks more like he's eleven, maybe twelve."

"He's small, that's for sure. At least he'll be easy to keep under control," Miles commented.

"Yeah, just imagine if he was as muscular as Wayne," Kyle said.

"Think he even misses the kid yet?" Miles asked.

"The school probably called to tell him Grayson was at least sick by now," Kyle started." The news already knows that three people have gone missing, so he probably knows little Richard's been kidnapped."

"So why haven't we made a ransom call yet?" Miles questioned impatiently.

"I don't even know what the ransom is, and I heard that this is about more than just some ransom, maybe Q has something against Wayne and there won't even be a ransom," Kyle shrugged.

"Maybe, I heard something about getting a permanent position with Q if we can prove ourselves useful, do you know what that was about?" Miles asked. He was new to this kind of work, and wasn't really sure how you got a stable position for stuff like this, it's not like they were going to become mercenaries, or at least he wasn't planning to.

"Something big. I guess if they're hiring people for secure spots they're having us do some other jobs like this first," Kyle replied. They stopped talking again, and looked over at the kid. He hadn't moved in a while, and it seemed as if he had gotten even quieter.

"Think we should try to wake him up?" Miles offered.

"He's probably fine, but if you want to, go ahead, just make sure he's restrained enough first." Kyle warned, not wanting the kid to make a run for it. He had done a few small kidnappings before, nothing big, just a few kids whose parents weren't motivated enough to do their job. With that experience, he learned that kids can be pretty smart when they have to. They would look like they had been unconscious, while they were working on getting themselves lose, then when he went to check on them, they would make a run for it.

"Right," Miles agreed, then stood up and walked towards Richard.

He checked the bindings, and tightened them a little bit as a precaution, even though they appeared untouched. The kid was breathing, but it was slightly labored, and his pulse was slow. He felt warm to the touch, maybe the poisoning he put in his food was still in his system. That might explain why he was still out, or maybe they gave him too much chloroform.

"Hey, kid," Miles shook Richard's shoulder, receiving a small, gagged moan in response." You okay?" Miles shook him harder, and the kid squeezed his eyes tighter. Miles let out a small, barely audible sigh and put the kid into a sitting position and lightly tapped the side of his face." You with us?"

Dick's eyes shot open, and tried to lurch forward. Miles, not knowing what was going on, pushed him back and tried to keep him still. That was when he heard the retching noise, and so did Kyle.

"I think he's puking, get the gag off him before he chokes!" Kyle yelled, but Miles was already on it, and soon the kid was on all fours puking his guts out. Once he got everything out, he started dry heaving, as he fought to inhale some air. Soon, Grayson leaned back against the wall, unaware of what was going on, and started panting.

Dick picked his head up after he caught his breath. He looked around, before it all clicked. He quickly tried to scramble to his feet, only for Miles to tackle him back to the ground." Where am I?" Dick demanded, trying to shake the man off him.

"Easy, kid," Miles warned.

"Gag him again, and calm down, Grayson, or we'll have to make you," Kyle threatened.

"Wait," Dick continued to struggle, pushing the hand away and trying to buy some time." Who are you? What do you want?"

"That's for us to know, and you to find out," Kyle told him, gesturing for Miles to continue to gag him. Miles gagged him again, even through the muffled pleas for him to stop.

That didn't comfort Dick at all, and he was having trouble remembering what had happened. He had felt sick, like really sick. He had been in the cafeteria when he had to throw up, and he made it to a trash can in the hallway. Barbara. She had been there. That was when the pain got worse.

At first he had thought it was just the aches he had been feeling all week and then nausea added on top, but he had been wrong. It had felt like a burning, stabbing pain, and it was only increasing. Babs had taken him to the nurse's office. They were calling an ambulance, but it wasn't really paramedics inside. He remembered it going dark, but not how. And he remembered a smell, it was a sweet, familiar smell, but he just couldn't remember…

"So I guess we should call the boss now?" Miles checked.

Kyle nodded, and pulled up a phone. They greeted each there, and it was silent for a while before Kyle spoke again." Yeah, the kid's awake, what should we do with him?" silence followed as the person, their boss, spoke." No, he's not struggling, he probably knows what's going on now," more silence." Really? So that's what this was about. You really think it will work?" he asked, and listened for his answer." You have a point. Right, we'll start right away." he said." No, he's fine. He threw up when he woke up, though, but he looks okay now." More silence, and then a look of surprise followed by a smirk." Yeah, I'm sure we can handle that." Came his response." Perfect, we'll call you when we're done,"

"What did the boss say?" Miles asked, interested about their conversation.

"The boss wants us to make the ransom video now," Kyle started." Said we need to rough him up a bit to get some more attention."

"I thought we weren't supposed to hurt him?" Miles questioned.

"Q said it needed to look more frequent when we did it, and the boss wasn't sure how long the drug would keep him out." Kyle stated, talking more about the mix of chloroform and the poison than just one or the other.

"_So I was drugged, but with what?" Dick thought to himself._

"I guess that makes sense," Miles said quietly, but sounded a little hesitant.

Dick didn't understand that, hadn't he been the one who hit him in the first place? Now that he thought about it, this guy was probably the one who drugged him.

"I'll grab some stuff and find a camera," Kyle said, pushing himself out of the chair and walking round a corner to begin rummaging through some things they had brought with him.

"Are we sending it to him, or to Q first?" Miles asked.

Dick was currently still trying to figure out who these people were, and if he could find an escape quickly enough to get out of here. The two of them didn't seem very concerned with him at the moment, and were basically ignoring him.

"We're not sending it to Wayne, we're going to broadcast it over the news. You said you were good with computers, right?" Kyle checked, receiving a nod.

"_Wait, if I've been kidnapped, why wouldn't they just send it to Bruce?" Dick questioned in his head._

"Yeah, but why?" Miles wondered, wasn't it better to have fewer people know about it? More people who knew, the more chances they would be found.

"We trying to get someone's attention," Kyle said." It has to do with the ransom,"

"And what is the ransom?" Miles asked.

Kyle smirked." Robin."

Dick's eyes went wide. No wonder they were going to beat him up and broadcast it. They were trying to get attention from Batman and Robin, not just Bruce. And even better, Robin was the price for his return. Just one problem; how was he supposed to pay his own ransom?

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><p><strong>So thoughts? Questions? Comments? Concerns? I would love to hear them and any ideas or creative criticism you might have, I could really use some tips. Did you like my portrayal of the charters? We'll be getting more into Dick's charter and some other main characters in the next few chapters to come, so don't worry about that. Sorry if he seemed a bit OOC, I purposefully made him like that to show some side effects of the drugs they used on him, but if it was too much, please let me know so I can work on it for the rest of this story. So how is he going to get out of this one? Any thoughts? I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you didn't, I apologize and can only hope I can do better in the future. Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! They really make my day so much better :)<strong>

**Special**** thanks to: ruthrod97, flamelily274, Whirling**, **Miss Singing in the Rain, MarissaKeye, Gemini Genim, xQueenxOfxNerds, allen niichan, Pottergirl3333, KAW9anime, Percy James Frost, Hazel-theTheatreGeek, Savy160 (writes some great stories, too, so you should check them out!), amyanime4, doggy bye, 3710rice, OnceUponASunsetDream, jamiefin, Mickey's Girl, PenguinLover28 (guest), Guest (guest) , Bethisafan77, The Shadow Keeper (and thanks for the wonderful conversation so far), and Turtles18 for the follows, favorites, and reviews, I appreciate every single one of them!  
><strong>

**PenguinLover28 (guest): I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far, it's a relief to hear you say that. And don't hesitate to share when an idea comes your way, even the crazy ones!**

**Guest (guest): Thanks, glad you liked it, and I'll continue as long as people are enjoying this :)**

**Thanks**** again for reading this, and don't forget to let me know what you think, whether that's through a PM or a review! I hope you all have a great Halloween, and if you don't do Halloween, have a great Friday! So, are you doing anything for Halloween? Dressing up? If you are, what are you going to be? I have no clue, and it's tomorrow, but I'll throw something together. I think I'm going to go trick or treating, because who would pass up free candy? And then watch some scary movies. Any ideas on what I should go as? I have this whole sob story about what I was going to be and how it didn't work out, so now I'm going to have to think of something else.**

**Bye! Until next time**

**-TheImaginativeFox**

**(reviews motivate and make me happy)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the new chapter. So this deals with more of the internal reactions to what's going on, rather than showing what action is taken as a result of it. I don't really think this came together as nicely as I would've liked it to, but I haven't updated in forever and really want to get this out, so bear with me.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, and who would be stupid enough to actually give me ownership over these charters?**

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><p>What can anyone do when someone goes missing? They can wait for more information, but that won't stop the worry that's building up. There are no guarantees when a child is abducted, when anyone is taken for that matter. The motives aren't always the same, and the actions caused by the motives vary in degree as well. No one knows if the people responsible want to hurt them or if they just want to use them for something.<p>

A lot of the time people are left with worry and not knowing what to do next. They might wait for a ransom call, and even if there is a call, there might not be proof of life. And when there is, it can be even scarier to hear the scared voice on the other end, or even actually see their face. The fact that knowing that someone has been taken and is at the mercy of their captors, not knowing if they will last another minute, or if you'll ever get to see them again is terrifying.

Other times there isn't a call, a video, or even a note, and you're just left completely in the dark. They start to wonder if they'll ever see them again, and it's hard knowing that even if they do everything they can, it still might not be enough.

That was how Bruce Wayne was feeling as he paced his office. Commissioner Gordon had called him to explain a little more about the situation, and why it had been on the news so quickly. Apparently, the two paramedics had called the GCPD and a few officers, including Gordon, had gone to investigate. They guessed that someone in the station leaked it to the news, and that how they found out about it.

Gordon didn't really know much about the case at the moment, even after interrogating the two paramedics and getting background files on them, the school nurse and the ambulance driver. Bruce really wanted to go investigate himself, but right now he needed to stay here and wait for an update; he could do an investigation later.

Even though Bruce had gone through this a few times before, both with Richard and Robin, it didn't make things any easier on him. If anything, it made him more nervous. The more he became a target, the more people would try it, and the more dangerous things could get. They took him from an ambulance of all places! What if there was a problem and he really needed to see a doctor? What if he was hurt? What if he never got to see his boy again?

Bruce's thoughts were interrupted as his phone went off in his pocket. He picked it up, and when he saw it was Jim Gordon calling him, he answered it as he attempted to stay calm." Hello, Commissioner, did you find something?"

"Hi Bruce," he greeted." We need to talk."

"Did something happen? Did you find Dick?" Bruce asked quickly.

"We still don't know his location, but we came across something I think you should see," Gordon explained. Bruce didn't feel comforted by how vague Jim was being, if anything it made him more worried." I can come to the manor so things can be a little more private,"

"Of course, that would probably be best," Bruce answered, although he really just wanted to demand some answers, but by the sound of Gordon's voice, that wasn't going to happen.

"Okay, I'm on my way," he told him.

"See you soon," Bruce said, and they hung up. He made his way out of the office, and started looking for Alfred and calling his name.

"Master Bruce, is everything alright?" the man asked, entering the living room where he had heard Bruce calling for him.

Coming further into the room, he noted that worry was written over Bruce's face. To anyone else, it might have been hard to tell, but Alfred could read theses subtle hints of worry that Bruce was showing. He understood where the worry came from of course, he was just beginning to wonder if something else had happened.

"Commissioner Gordon called and said he needed to show me something, I think it has something to do with Dick's kidnapping. He's on his way over right now," Bruce explained.

"Do they have a lead already?" Alfred asked, trying to sound optimistic.

"It must be something important if he couldn't discuss it over the phone and had to come here," Bruce noted.

"That sounds correct, Sir," Alfred agreed." When he arrives, I shall bring him to the living room, unless you would prefer to discuss this somewhere else?"

"The living room will be fine," Bruce stated.

"Very well, I shall prepare some tea and scones for you to have while you talk," Alfred told him, beginning to leave the room.

"Thank you," Bruce called as the man left. Then Bruce started walking towards the living room to continue to wait for the commissioner to arrive.

Bruce took a seat on one of the couches as he began to wonder what he would want to talk about that he couldn't tell him over the phone. Had the kidnappers gone to the police? That would be new, and unusual. Maybe they had gotten a tip and his phone calls were being traced, and they called to try to find the signal. It was a little out there, but if they didn't want him to contact the police, then it was actually kind of smart. And if they were doing that, that meant there would be a ransom call, right? There had to be.

Bruce continued to try to convince himself whatever Gordon was going to tell him would somehow relate to being good news on getting Dick back. He knew not to assume that Dick had escaped and was currently in the back of the Commissioner's car and on his way home, Gordon could've told him that, and it was just too hard to believe. He could barely convince himself that he was getting good news.

"Right this way, Commissioner Gordon," he heard Alfred leading the man towards the living room. When Jim entered the room, Bruce stood up and they shared a short greeting as Alfred sat the tray of tea and lemon scones down on the coffee table before he excused himself.

"So, mind telling me what this is about?" Bruce asked. The two were both sitting down, and with a sigh, Gordon pulled out his laptop and started typing as he spoke.

"On the news a little while ago, something came up." Gordon started, deciding it was best to just get straight to the point, and sliding the laptop closer to Bruce." As they were giving a report, something came up on the screens on the set,"

The screen was showing static, but then the picture became clear, and there was a man wearing black ski mask standing there. It was hard to tell where they were exactly do to the poor lighting. As Bruce took in the surroundings, the man started talking, only his voice was disguised.

"Hello, Gotham," the man greeted." This won't take long, but you will want to stay until the end, we have a special message for you. As most of you know, earlier today three people went missing. We won't give you all of the details, but Richard here wanted to say hello,"

The camera panned over to a boy who sat slumped against a wall. He was gagged, and his wrist and ankles were tied together. It didn't look all that necessary as the boy looked as if he would pass out at any second. He also looked pale and as if he was shivering. Richard didn't look particularly injured, but he didn't look well either.

"Now, Richard here has volunteered to help show you all something, isn't that right, kid?" the man asked, filling a syringe with a clear liquid. The boy in question looked up, a little confused as to what they were going to do to him." This is a pain-inducer, he tested it out earlier, but it looks like he wants some more. It can be given in a lot of ways, even just by skin contact, but it's most effective if it's injected into the bloodstream,"

At this point, Dick's eyes went wide as the masked man approached him and sent the liquid into his veins. Not even a second later, and Dick's eyes squeezed tightly together as he felt the aches in his body begin to worsen.

Bruce could easily see the pain written over his face, but he was confused as he didn't see any injuries, had they hurt him before this? He remembered Dick wasn't feeling well that week, he assumed it was just a cold that he had caught. Then he remembered the body aches that came with a cold or the flu.

"And now for the demonstration," the masked man continued, grabbing Dick and pushing him off the wall and onto the hard ground where he let out a grunt of pain from the force.

"We'll fast forward through this part," Gordon said quickly, making a grab for the computer.

"No, I need to know what's happening to him," Bruce said firmly, pulling the laptop a little closer to him.

When Bruce looked back at the screen, the man had started kicking the kid on the floor, not very hard at first, just to show what even a small amount could do. The kicks started getting harder and faster, and then he grabbed a bat and brought it out to the side before swinging it down on the poor boy's stomach.

"Come on, Bruce," Gordon started warningly," You don't need to see this," Jim then reached over and snatched the laptop away from a shocked Bruce Wayne. The boy's muffled cry of pain still ringing through his ears.

When Gordon pressed play again, the screen showed a bruising Richard Grayson with his eyes closed tightly in pain, Bruce was unable to tell if the boy was unconscious or they had just decided to stop. Dick's breathing sounded more labored than it had before, and there were dried tear tracks running down his cheeks.

"I hope we have your attention now," the man stated." We want Robin. Yes, you heard me, we'll let them go when Robin turns himself in. But if we find you beforehand, then I guess we'll have to make other use of the kid here. I hope we've made our point clear, we'll be in touch, little bird,"

The screen was once again filled with static before going back to showing the wide-eyed news reporter. Her mouth was slightly ajar, and she was looking at the screen were the clip had been showing. One of the camera men announced that they were back on, and the woman quickly began to start talking again before asking to cut to commercial. They knew she had watched the whole thing, and probably a lot of people who had been watching, because it was hard to look away from something like that.

"We couldn't track the signal or detect the voice, well not yet anyway," Gordon explained, gaining Bruce's attention once more." I'm sorry I had to show you that, but I felt you should know what's going on and I didn't really know how else to explain it to you in a way that made sense,"

"No, I'm glad you showed me, just not so much about what I saw," Bruce said. He would hate to be left out about this or find out about the video later on the news or in the paper." Besides, I would have found out about it later, and I would much rather know now,"

"What do we do now?" Bruce asked, pulling himself together and resisting the urge to break something.

"We keep the investigation going until we find him and the people responsible are behind bars," Gordon answered." We're going to set up a few more interrogations and continue to do some background checks. We'll try the hospital and the school first, then we'll branch off from there,"

Bruce nodded in acknowledgment before asking," What are you going to do about the ransom?"

"Robin?" Bruce nodded, he was curious to see what Gordon thought about it." I don't really know, I'll probably talk with Batman later about it, see if he has any ideas about what to do,"

"A kid for another kid," Bruce pondered." That's just wrong, there has to be some other way."

"I don't like it either. We'll find a way to get him out of this, and hopefully avoid having to get Robin involved," Gordon said. He knew that Batman wouldn't willingly let the boy go, especially if it wasn't completely necessary, but what if Robin figured out where to go and snuck off anyway to save the civilian?

"Why Richard?" Bruce started, talking to himself more than Gordon." Why use him to get to Robin?"

"I don't know, but don't worry, Bruce, we'll find him," Gordon promised. At that point, Gordon's phone went off. He picked it up and looked at who it was," It's the station,"

Bruce nodded in understanding, and then started to think about what he had seen and what he could do about it as Gordon had his conversation. What would he do if Robin had been the ransom for a kid other than his own? Would he let him go? Would Robin go anyway? Bruce probably wouldn't let it happen if he could help it, at least not until he was assured Robin would be safe and they had a good plan at the ready. But even if he did say no, Robin would probably run off to help them, saying that he would stand a better chance.

And what would these people do to Richard in the meantime? What would happen if the police showed up, or if they found him investigating as Batman? He hated feeling so useless. He felt guilty for letting this happen. Maybe if he had kept Richard home from school today, this wouldn't have happened. But then again, he didn't even know how this had happened. They didn't have enough detail on it, or the reasoning behind their plans. They didn't even know the plan!

"Sorry about that," Gordon said, putting the phone back in his pocket and turning to Bruce.

"Is everything okay?" Bruce questioned.

"Fine, but they need me back at the station," he announced.

"I'll walk you out," Bruce offered, and the two got up and started walking towards the door. It was a quiet, slightly tense walk. Not really because of the company, but more so the situation.

"Call us if anything happens, and if they contact you, try to keep them talking as long as you can," Gordon reminded him.

"Right," Bruce agreed, hoping that he would get to have some communicating with the kidnappers, and maybe try to convince them to come to some more realistic terms. That itself seemed unlikely at this point after watching the footage, but he still hoped that maybe they would contact him and let him talk to Dick.

oOo

Wally made his way into the team's hideout and greeted Kaldur and Conner. Megan was at practice, Artemis had a report she had to finish before she could come over, and no one knew where Robin was. They were supposed to have training later that afternoon, but had agreed to come a little early so that they could hang out.

Artemis and Megan arrived at the same time, and the two joined the boys who were currently playing a very intense game of Mario Cart. The game ended with Wally winning, and then they turned it off. Checking the clock, they saw they still had some time until Black Canary arrived for their training, so they made their way into the kitchen and they started making a snack.

"Hey, was Rob not with you guys?" Wally asked.

"No, I thought he would've been here by now; it's not like him to be late," Artemis commented. They all paused as they wondered where they little bird could be.

"Hello Megan, Batman probably doesn't want Robin out of his sight because of what happened earlier today," Megan announced after a short pause, but the others seemed confused.

"What occurred earlier today that has to do with Robin?" Kaldur asked.

"And how would you know if something was wrong with Robin and not the rest of us?" Conner questioned. He knew Megan was close with her mentor and that she could also read minds, so it could've just been an accident that she had found out, but this concerned Robin, so shouldn't they all get to know about this?

"You didn't see it? It was all over the news," Megan pointed out, still receiving confused looks.

"Is he okay? What happened?" Wally asked quickly before Megan could continue her explanation. Then he started speed-speaking to the point that no one could understand him.

"Wally!" Artemis yelled, gaining the speedster's attention, and he gave a quick apology and stopped talking." Megan, you were saying?"

"Well, some girls on the team were talking about it. Apparently Bruce Wayne's ward, Richard Grayson, was kidnapped along with two other people. Then later today, someone hacked into Gotham News and played a video over it. At the end of the video, he said that for the boy to be returned home, Robin would have to give himself up," Megan finished explaining, and the team looked shocked.

The Boy Wonder had been kidnapped a few times before that they knew of, and had definitely taken more beatings than any of them knew what to do with, but had he ever been ransom before? Sure, he'd probably been told by villains to hand himself over or they would kill the hostage, but that was usually done when he was standing right there, not on the news.

Wally was speechless, and for a different reason than the team. They were probably worried about the kid, but he was just a kid that they had never met. They didn't know that that kid was Robin. How was Robin supposed to get out of this one? The rest of the team might be concerned if he decides to turn himself over, but Wally knew he wouldn't even get the chance to.

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><p><strong>Another chapter down, I hope it wasn't too bad. Did I get the characters okay? I wasn't sure how I wanted to have the interactions between Bruce and Gordon go, and so I feel I might have made it too forced or too out of character or just completely off. Any tips on how I can portray the characters' reactions better? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Was it a good idea bringing in the team's reaction to the news like that? Or was it a bad idea for Megan to tell them because she heard it at practice? And what will everyone do now that they know what's going on? What do you want to see next? More of the team? Robin? Batman? A little bit of everything? Let me know, and don't forget to leave a review :)<br>**

**Special thanks to: sapphire110, soulevans31, DarkMousyRulezAll, HappyGoLucky15, Butterfly Crown (and thanks for reviewing on my other stories as well!), The Awesome God Apollo, Robin Rider, Boo4Moo, 17blanceri, ThePowerOfBooks, IndiaMoore, Hyper-Blossom Z, Red Sky at Morning, Jaddis****, amyanime4, Bethisafan77, Gemini Genim, Guest (guest), Mickey's Girl (guest), PenguinLover28 (guest), Turtles18, Anonymous-Nerds-Unite, The Shadow Keeper, Pottergirl3333, IndiaMoore, and jamiefin for the follows, favorites, and the amazing reviews!  
><strong>

**Guest (guest): Thanks, I'm glad you liked, hopefully I'm wrong and this chapter is good too. Hey, are you the same Guest who reviewed on The Anniversary? **

**Mickey's Girl (guest): Thanks again for the review, super sorry for the late update by the way, but I'm sure you guys are already tired of my excuses, so I shall just continue to apologize until I feel I have a valid reason**

**PenguinLover28 (guest): Thanks for the review, I'm glad you are continuing to enjoy this, and keeping up with the kind reviews! Sounds like a good costume, and the idea of a zombie anime fangirl would be so cool, as if I was a zombie, I would probably be that one. Batgirl would've been a cool costume, but I wanted to go as Robin, more specifically Stephanie Brown. I ended up putting together a Nightwing-ish costume. I had black pants, black gloves, and my black glasses worked as a mask, and then I threw on my Nightwing hoodie. A few people even recognized who I was, so all was well, and thanks for asking about the sob story :)**

**Turtles18: I feel so bad, I kept forgetting that I wasn't able to PM you and so hadn't put you in the responses, I'm really sorry. Thanks for the reviews, and reminding me to have fun with the story. I'm having fun writing this, even if I'm a little leery about it at times, and I hope you guys are enjoying reading it. And thanks for checking out and reviewing on my other story :)**

**Okay, I've been getting a pretty good response with this story, but the last chapter's response was just so amazing, it made me so happy, and it came just when I needed it. Thank you guys so much and I hope it continues! When I saw all of the emails, I kept asking myself what I did in the last chapter that you guys liked it so much.**

**Until time**

**-TheImaginativeFox**

**(thanks again, you guys are awesome!)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Discalaimer: Nope, still don't have ownership, and even if I said I did, would any of you actually believe me?**

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><p>Bruce sat at the Batcomputer, running the tape over once again, trying to find something to give away the location. But once again found nothing useful. He had tried to pick up on Dick's condition, and how bad it really was. This was proving more difficult, as he wasn't able to figure out exactly how hard the pain inducer worked, or what else they did to him that he just couldn't see or pick up on.<p>

After a pause, he started the clip over again, along with the location device that still wasn't able to pick anything up. He paused the video at the beginning and zoomed in on Dick. At that point, he didn't have anything in his system that Bruce knew of and didn't appear to be hurt. The look on the poor kid's face, however, told a different story.

It was wracked with fear and confusion. Bruce didn't know how or what else this pain inducer was capable of. For all he knew it just increased senses and made them stronger, in turn becoming something of a pain inducer. But the drug they used could also put an increase on other things besides senses, for example his emotions among other things he had yet to think of that lasted longer even after its original purpose wore off.

Bruce didn't know the answers to his growing list of questions, but he intended to find out one way or another. But for now, he just searched Richard's pleading face. It might not have been obvious for an outsider to see what Dick was really feeling right now, but Bruce could definitely pick up on it, whether he wanted to or not.

He just couldn't look away from the screen; from his child. His eyes. Oh, his eyes. It was close to the look Dick had when he woke up from the simulation after it went wrong not too long ago. In the same way, hoping that what had happened before wasn't real, and hoping that it wouldn't ever happen. And then the look of disappointment when he was left there; no one coming to save him. Just like in the simulation, only this time if something went wrong, Bruce would be to blame. It wasn't some complication during an exercise, it was a plan that had been put into action on purpose, and he wouldn't be able to tell himself it wasn't real; that it never happened.

Bruce felt his heart tug at these thoughts. He had failed. His boy had gotten hurt, and he hadn't been able to stop it. Instead, Dick had been, and currently was, alone, and right now Bruce wasn't any closer to finding him than when he started. All he wanted to do was get Dick home safe and sound.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the locator go off. It had picked up the same signal as the feed from the video on the news had. He quickly clicked on it to see where it was coming from, only to be confused that it was coming from his computer upstairs. Quickly, he stood up from his chair and ran up the stairs to investigate.

Ending up in his study, he quickly typed in his password and saw he had a new email. Opening it, it was indeed what had caused the locator to go off. What he saw was another video, but it was longer than the one shown on the news. Still curious, he slowly clicked play and was greeted by a new voice, this time lacking a face to go along with it.

"Hello Bruce," it started in an obviously computer disguised voice." Don't be alarmed, I'm here to help. But you see, before I can do that, we need to set some ground rules. You've probably already seen what we put up on the news showing our demands, and if you have, feel free to skip this next part. It's the same clip we put on the news earlier this afternoon."

And it was. It started the same way, explaining that they had Dick Grayson and were showing what their pain inducer could do. Just like on the news, it was a few minutes of them going back and forth throwing Dick around. He knew they weren't hitting him hard enough to break anything, and they were avoiding his head to make sure they didn't give him a concussion. They were, however, hitting him hard enough to leave him sore with some bruises to show for it. With one final kick to the side, Dick landed on his side and didn't make any attempt to move as he did before. Instead, he kept his eyes closed tight as he tried to focus on his breathing. Only this time, Bruce knew that he wasn't unconscious, as he had watched the video so many times. Then the man who had been attacking him stepped away, facing the camera and began to explain the ransom.

"Now that we're all caught up, I'll continue." The voice started again after the clip ended." I guarantee you that Richard is fine, it looked much worse than it really was, but the drug has worn off and no more harm shall come to him unless it is necessary. I hope you can understand that we only had to do that to gain the attention we required. And if everything goes as planned, you will have him back in just a few short days.

"I can't give you too much information just yet, but trust me when I say it would be best for you and your son if you just go along with what we ask. If we need a small favor and you comply, I can assure you that Richard will be in good hands until we can return him to you. But if not, I'm afraid we won't be able to prevent all of the possible incidents that might occur.

"We'll talk again soon, and if I'm happy with your response, I might be able to set something up so you can speak with Richard. Have a nice day, Mr. Wayne," and with that the video ended, and Bruce was left staring at the screen in shock.

They had contacted him, but they hadn't told him they wanted anything other than his cooperation. Who were these people? And what did they really want?

"Master Bruce?" came Alfred's shocked voice from behind him.

Bruce turned around to face him. The man was anything but pleased. He looked slightly pale and concerned about what he had witnessed. Bruce hadn't shown him the video after Gordon had left, instead running right down to the cave after the Commissioner had left, not giving Alfred any explanation.

"How long have you been standing there?" Bruce questioned, wondering when Alfred had gotten back.

"I had only arrived home from picking up Master Richard's things from school when I heard some commotion going on and came to investigate," Alfred explained." Was this what Commissioner Gordon needed to show you?"

"Yes, Jim said the clip of Dick was on the news," Bruce sighed, recalling the argument that he and Alfred had had in the cave a while after Gordon had left. Alfred had decided he would find out what it was all about later and went to pick up Dick's backpack and lunch bag." I've been in the cave trying to track a signal, and when it went off and said it was found on my computer, I found this extended version with his kidnappers leaving a message for me."

Alfred didn't know how to respond. It wasn't like it was the first ransom video they had received, but normally when Richard Grayson had been kidnapped they usually just wanted money, but it appeared that this particular group had something else in mind. Pulling himself together, Alfred spoke," And it seems they have made quite the demand. Seeing as the price for the young master's return would be difficult to pay, we will just have to figure this out another way. But I assure you, we will find a way around this, and if anyone could pull it off, I believe it would be you, Master Bruce."

Bruce noticed the look on the man's face that hadn't changed since first witnessing the video, if anything it had only increased. He could also pick out the anger Alfred held in his voice, not directed at Bruce, but more so at the demands and threats that had been made. Even so, Alfred's last spoken thoughts had that same feel of wisdom and encouragement he had come to appreciate. And as Alfred spoke to him, he started to think of other ways besides trackers to get a location, or at least some ideas on how to find a few leads that he could look into.

"Alfred?" Bruce asked, breaking the silence as he thought of something.

"Yes, sir?" came Alfred's reply.

"When you picked up his stuff, was any of his lunch left?" Bruce continued.

"Yes, I left it in the kitchen, why? Do you think someone tampered with it?" Alfred questioned, not even phased by the sudden question.

"It's possible, so if he was and we know what they used, it could give us some things to look for," Bruce explained.

"Very well, I shall go grab it and bring it downstairs," Alfred said, as Bruce nodded in understanding and walked towards the clock, hoping that they could just find something to bring them a little closer to finding out what was going on. If the pain inducer was in the food, they could figure out how it was made, while helping to point them in the right direction.

.oOo.

Richard Grayson, Dick, his best friend, was gone. Wally didn't know what to do as he refrained from running straight to Gotham and demanding answers from Batman. When had this happened? How long had he been gone? And how had Wally not known about it? Okay, so no, he didn't keep tabs on everything that happened in Gotham, and he didn't check the news when he got out of school all the time, but usually he heard about big stuff one way or another. But then again, he hadn't done anything after school except finish his homework and come to the cave. So he could see how he didn't know, but if Megan hadn't told them, would Batman have even told them what was going on? Would Bruce have told him?

Sometimes when Rob went MIA, they would find out about it later when Robin was back. And if it went on long enough, he would find out either by pestering Bruce or Alfred himself or getting his uncle to find out. He couldn't decide which was worse; finding out when Robin was still missing, or being left in the dark until he was back home. He could easily recall the times he would text Rob and not get a reply only to find out he had been taken; as Dick Grayson or as Robin.

Luckily, Robin hadn't been kidnapped since the team had been formed, but the others did know about the past incidents in some detail. Bruce usually didn't go and announce things like that, as Batman or Bruce, and then when Dick would text him, well, it wasn't really the kind of conversation he liked to have. And in his opinion, they've had to have that type of "catch up" too many times. When he remembered the time Joker had made a video for Batman to watch, he recalled Megan had mentioned a video as well.

"Wait, did you actually see the video?" Wally asked quickly and a little nervously, wishing for this to be some sort of prank. He knew it was stupid to think that way, but he just really didn't want to imagine what they could do to him, or what they did do to him.

"No, none of us saw it. There was an article, but there was a clip of something on the news, although we didn't watch it," Megan answered.

"And they want Robin?" Wally checked.

"That's what it said. I don't think Robin went after them yet, though. The article probably would've mentioned that, so I'm sure he's fine and he'll probably just show up with Batman for training." Megan reasoned, still trying to convince herself that everything would be okay.

She was worried for Robin and what trouble might come after him. And that poor boy who was stuck in the middle of this just to get to Robin, not to mention the other two involved. She didn't know much about this type of situation, or what really happens during one. Megan had heard in a little detail about what Robin had had to go through during a few run-ins with Gotham criminals, and she just hoped that it wouldn't be an incident like those. As she thought about that, she became curious as to who was behind everything, and what they wanted with Robin. The more she thought about it, though, the more she didn't like it.

"But what about the kid?" it was the first time Artemis had spoken since Megan had given them the news. She had looked pretty shocked, before quickly getting control over her emotions, but you could see that there was a small hint of worry in her voice." Is he okay?"

"Um, I don't know, but I hope so. There was more to the article but we didn't finish," Megan admitted." Oh, but it did mention that they gave him something to make it seem like he needed an ambulance, and that the kidnappers had been in the ambulance when it got to the school. I guess they used it so that people wouldn't question it too much when they went in to take him."

No. This wasn't happening. Artemis had been there. Right there. And she couldn't stop it. She did nothing, she couldn't even pick up that something was wrong! Okay, so sure, she asked his friend if everything was okay, but she should've paid more attention. Like the way Barbara was responding, or how quickly everything had happened. Dick had been fine that morning! Artemis had seen him before school started. Yeah, he looked a little tired and maybe a bit feverish, but to be fair, it just looked like early symptoms of the common cold, and it had been going around, so why would anyone give it a second thought? And last she checked, the common cold didn't escalate that quickly, and the cries she heard echo through the hallway definitely weren't normal. So of course she hadn't been surprised when she heard he had been taken to the hospital, who would be?

Even thinking this, the guilt still continued to take over. She was supposed to be a hero, but she couldn't even prevent a kidnapping that was happening right in front of her. She should've picked up on the clues. And not only was Dick Grayson in danger because she had lacked to pick up on all of the details, but now Robin was too. If they didn't come up with something, Robin would definitely give himself up, and who knows what could happen if, and when, he did that! How would she be able to forgive herself if something bad happened to either of them?

They were all lost in their own thoughts when they heard the computer announce Black Canary's arrival. Looking at the time, they noticed she was actually a few minutes late, and they should've been ready to start by now.

So, the five of them made their way towards where Black Canary was waiting, as they continued to think about what was going on in Gotham. They understood Gotham was a dangerous place to live in, but why would someone go after a kid like that? And they were using Richard as leverage to get to Robin, and they knew if they didn't find another way soon, Robin would comply. No matter what the risk. They would do the same in his position; it's just what they do. But even knowing that, could they just let Robin go that easily?

.oOo.

Dick slowly succumbed to consciousness, and as he did he became aware of the aches across his body. The way he was lying wasn't giving any relief to his bruises and the dull headache was becoming more prominent. A moan unwilling escaped him, reminding him of his current situation as he heard the muffled sound through the gag.

His eyes quickly snapped open and he quickly took in his surroundings. He found himself in the same place he was when they had filmed the video, although the details on that were still a little fuzzy, as was everything else that had occurred that day. He tried to push himself up into a sitting position, only to be greeted with shouts of protests coming from his aching body and dizziness to consume him from the sudden motion. Once he was situated, he became aware that the voices, which he hadn't even noticed before, had ceased.

Dick just looked up at them, cocking his head slightly to the side, as if considering them, and the two masked men looked back. Dick was slightly relieved that they didn't come at him and try to hurt him again. He didn't know if he could take another round with that stuff, as still felt really tired and was aware that he was still processing things a little slowly. He understood what was going on, sort of, but he was still a little confused on all of the details.

The two men had a quiet conversation that Dick wasn't paying attention to. He was having difficulty focusing on things at the moment, as he was too focused on not falling back asleep. He didn't really know why he felt so tired, and he didn't really remember falling asleep either. He thought about the possibility of being knocked out, but he didn't feel any familiar symptoms that proved that thought, and by now, he could usually tell.

"Here," Dick looked up and was greeted with a glass of water with a straw in it. He looked at it suspiciously, so the man continued," It's just water,"

This whole thing was getting weird. The give him some drug and kidnap him, then they make sure he's okay before giving him the drug again and hitting him with a bat, and then they offer him water. Noticing the pattern, it probably wasn't in his best interest to accept it, so he turned his head away in protest.

"Fine, don't drink it," the man started." I'll leave it here in case you change your mind,"

Dick continued to stare at him defiantly as the man set the glass down and walked back over to where the other man was sitting. But soon, they started talking again, leaving Dick to fight off sleep on his own as he let out an occasional small cough. As he did, he figured being sick couldn't be all bad in this situation. After all, getting them sick could make good revenge. Dick smirked at the idea of the two of them under a blanket with thermometers in their mouths when Batman came in and got his own revenge before dropping them off at the police station and taking him home to his warm bed.

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><p><strong>So that last part was an image I got while writing, and I decided to throw it in. Even while held captive, I imagine Dick still being a bit of a little troll. I hope you liked the update, don't know how I feel about some parts, but overall I don't think it's too bad. How where the reactions? I still have to do some for Kaldur and Conner, and then Alfred's is coming soon as well. How was Alfred? I figured he would try to stay strong around Bruce while giving him some assurance, and then think over everything when he was alone. But any tips you might have for the characters would be great. I also did a little more with Dick being sick, more because my sister got me sick. Sorry if this story is getting repetitive, but I think things are going to speed up, so anything you want to see for the next chapter? Thanks for reading!<strong>

**Special thanks to: TheEnderKat, Mickey's Girl, livingwithbooks, TheUltimateAngela, GenderBender25, Triscribe, yuekochan, Nmncartoons, IrisLillyRose (thanks again for the reviews!), Sophia. E. Anderson , EvilQueen5, Tsukiko Ono, mortalathena, katie. gray. 3914, stikenotes, Lil'LordBrat, hogwartsisawesome, Potato Cats, IndiaMoore, Jaddis, The Shadow Keeper, Bethisafan77, DuskMuse711, Mickey's Girl, PenguinLover28 (guest), Pottergirl3333, Butterfly Crown, Turtles18, Hi (guest), Anonymous-Nerds-Unite(sorry for the shortness, but this one is about 200 words longer), and Guest (guest) for the favorites, follows, and reviews :)**

**PenguinLover28 (guest): Thanks for the review, I like Wally, too, so I hope I'm doing his character justice ****  
><strong>

**Hi (guest): Thanks for the review and feedback, I really appreciate it! Yeah, maybe Megan was a bit too casual about it, but at that point she hadn't seen the video or read what had happened in the video. And the last chapter where I put the team in was more of an introduction, which was why I didn't make the reactions too big, and almost didn't even add it last time. Either way, I hope the reactions where better in this chapter, and I still have more to build on. Thanks again :)**

**Guest: That's a good idea, maybe I'll do something with that, I'll have to see what I do with this story first of course, but I'm already getting ideas**

**Until next time**

**-TheImaginativeFox**

**(Reviews for the sick writer? What about for sick Robin?)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A little later than I expected, but here all the same, I hope you enjoy it**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing **

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><p>Bruce was back in the cave, only this time Alfred was accompanying him. The pair was just finishing testing the remains of Richard's lunch, which was some corn chowder that Alfred had made for Bruce and Richard to take with them. Alfred and Bruce had eaten it earlier without any problems, so they assumed whatever Dick was given was introduced at school. In addition to the food, they were also checking the water from the thermos, which, much like the boy's lunch, was mostly untouched.<p>

A loud, long beep broke the silence that was across the cave, signifying that the tests were complete. Bruce shut it off and removed the objects, then started to look over the results. After a quick scan of the details he began to explain what it was.

"It looks like some type of poison, and it was only found in the food," Bruce started." It's supposed to cause symptoms similar to a stomach bug, and it can only work up to thirty minutes."

"But there was no indication of the pain inducer that they mentioned in the video?" Alfred questioned, taking the paper that was handed to him.

"Nothing like that, so unless it can evaporate without leaving a trace, it wasn't in anything he ate or drank," Bruce answered." I think this was just to give the pain inducer something to feed off of to give it a better effect."

"Didn't they mention that it could be given in multiple ways, Master Bruce?" Alfred offered.

"Yes, they said that it could be given as anything from skin contact with the most effective being injection." Bruce elaborated.

"Well, we have eliminated ingestion, unless we believe it could've been evaporated by this point," Alfred started as he thought of other possible forms." Perhaps we could test the containers for any trace of a skin-contact drug?"

"We could try that. I'll also scan for finger prints, maybe we can find out who put the poison in the food, too." Bruce stood up, putting his gloves back on before placing the water bottle and container into a machine that would scan for anything on the containers.

Alfred was both relieved and worried about their findings. He was relieved that whatever they had put in his food seemed mostly harmless, but he was also worried that they still hadn't been able to find the pain inducer. Not knowing what they were giving Master Richard was unsettling, especially since they didn't know what kind of effects it could have in the long run. Alfred knew for a fact that having a mixture of drugs in your system wasn't a good thing, particularly those invented by people whose intent was to hurt someone else. Alfred would never be able to forget the harm that was inflicted upon himself and his charges by the different venoms, toxins, and gases created by Gotham's villains. Alfred could recall many late nights spent in the cave trying to come up with a cure to a new formula.

A memory of when Dick had been exposed to a mix of Joker Venom and Fear Gas came to mind. Alfred had been waiting for their return, just as he normally would. But when the Batmobile pulled up this time, he could hear cries of fear in between laughter coming from inside it. Batman had jumped out of the car, pulling off his cowl as he ran to the other side, soon holding a struggling Robin close in his arms.

"How long has he been like this?" Alfred asked, quickly making his way to the medical area as Bruce laid the crying boy down and removed his mask. Dick's eyes were wide, fear and shock filling them as he continued to watch something none of them could see.

"I don't know. Joker got a hold of him and he was already exposed when I found him, and that was approximately five minutes ago," Bruce said as placed an oxygen mask over Dick's mouth and nose in hopes that it could help him to control his breathing a little better." It looks like it's a mix of Fear Gas and Joker Venom, maybe joker used both or he created a new formula using similar components of each."

"I see, we'll need to do a blood test to see if we can revere it," Alfred decided, picking up the needed supplies.

As he did this, Dick's laughter was increasing and proving more difficult to control, even with the assistance of an oxygen mask. He was also beginning to shake as he curled into himself. Alfred knew Dick must be in pain from the constricting effects the forced laughter had along with the injuries he received from their battle, and this wasn't even counting what he was going through mentally.

"Master Bruce, please try to hold him still," Alfred commanded as he tried to keep his voice calm and steady. Bruce nodded, easily holding the boy's small frame still as Alfred took some blood

"Just focus on breathing, Dicky," Bruce coaxed, trying to give Dick a reassuring look. Once Alfred removed the needle, Bruce started running his hand through the boy's hair while the other hand held on to Dick's. Bruce also continued to whisper encouraging words to Dick as Alfred finished with the results.

"No," Alfred heard Dick cry out, once again struggling against Bruce's hold." We have t-to save them before he gets them. Just leave us alone!" he continued to plea, and then the laughter started again." It's not funny. Stop laughing. I said stop!"

Alfred knew no matter what they said to him it would only fall on unhearing ears. Not because he didn't want to listen, but because he couldn't. Dick wasn't very aware of what was happening to or around him, all he could seem to focus on was what he was currently experiencing. He couldn't even tell that he was the one who was creating the laughter. And even though the laugh sounded like his own, it still wasn't truly _his_. It didn't bring others joy when they heard it, instead it brought worry as the sensed the fear seeping through it. Then there was the huge smile on his face that didn't belong there as tears fell down his cheeks and heartbreaking cries left his mouth. Alfred also noticed that Dick's normally bright, blue eyes were now clouded with fear and abandonment. The poor boy was shaking, and all Alfred could do was hope that they were able to resolve this soon.

"The scan is finished," Alfred announced as he took the results from the machine and looked it over," It appears to be a new formula that shares components of both Fear Gas and Joker Venom, as we suspected."

Bruce nodded in understanding, but his main focus remained on the boy. Dick was still struggling for breath, and all Bruce could do was watch. Dick was no longer trying to get off of the bed, but the shaking was only growing worse along with the desperate pleas that he continued to chant over and over again between the laughter and gasps for air.

"Now that we know what it's made of, I'll start trying to come up with a way to neutralize it," Bruce decided, begrudgingly leaving Dick's side. Bruce hated having to leave him like this, even if he was just going over to the lab where he would still be able to see Dick. It was hard enough trying to soothe him, but now Bruce would be forced to try to ignore him in order to work on the cure.

"He's really tense," Bruce noticed as he looked over Dick, brushing some stray hairs out of his face." Do you think giving him some painkillers could help him relax?"

"I would think so, sir," Alfred agreed. They hadn't been able to give the boy anything in fear that it would only make it worse. His injuries weren't too serious from what they could tell, but they knew that he was agitating them and was definitely feeling it." Shall I start him on something to help numb the pain?"

"Yes, just nothing too heavy; he needs to stay conscious," Bruce explained, knowing that if he fell asleep he could fall into a coma.

"Of course, sir." Alfred said in understanding, gathering a few things to give the boy an IV, as it would be nearly impossible to get him to swallow something. He walked back over, and Bruce held one of Dick's shaking arms steady once more for Alfred to insert the needle. Once the medicine started working its way through Dick's bloodstream, he seemed to relax a little.

It wasn't too much later that they were giving him the cure and Alfred started to work on patching him up. Only after Dick was settled upstairs in his bed with Bruce by his side did Alfred fully acknowledge what could've happened. Alfred would prefer to not to need to have nights like these, and he was sure Bruce and Dick felt the same, but it was also a necessary part of what they did, and they accepted that and knew the risk. Alfred understood this as well, but he would still have times were he would lie awake at night and be haunted by memories of the close calls that had happened and the thoughts of what could have been.

And that night had been one of those nights. Alfred had gotten up out of bed and made his way towards Dick's room to reassure himself that everything was fine. When he entered the room, he found both sleeping peacefully, Dick in his bed and Bruce in the chair. Alfred smiled to himself as he watched the two sleep, happy that at the moment everything was at peace.

"Nothing," Bruce's voice forced the memory to fade, and Alfred brought his attention to what Bruce was saying." Not a trace of the drug or any finger prints other than ours and Dick's,"

Alfred saw past the irritation in the man's voice and saw instantly saw past the worry," I'm sure we'll think of something, perhaps the Batman will be able to find something tonight?"

"But where am I supposed to start? I can't just check every possible location, not even counting the possibility that they're not even in Gotham anymore," Bruce explained.

"Maybe looking for their motive could help give us a better idea of suspects and locations," Alfred suggested.

"Good idea, Alfred," Bruce started to think of main reasons why someone would go after either." When someone goes after Dick, they usually want money, or sometimes something from Wayne Enterprises. And when someone goes after Robin, it's usually for revenge or to get to me. There has to be a connection, I'm just not seeing it."

"And you believe Dick is being used as more than bait to get to Robin, correct?" Alfred asked.

Bruce nodded." The video that they sent said something about needing favors, I think that it has to do with whatever they're planning."

"And what about Robin?" Alfred continued." Do you think they're using him to get to Batman or do you think they have a purpose for Robin?"

"It doesn't make sense to take so many steps just to get to Batman, and then with the video they sent, it has to be something from both Bruce Wayne and Batman," Bruce explained." But it makes sense for them to want to use Robin for something, too."

"Perhaps their intent is to use the two as leverage?" Alfred suggested.

"That's what I was thinking at first, too. But then instead of just taking Robin like they took Dick, they wanted Robin to come to them," Bruce stated.

"You do make a point," Alfred agreed." Is it possible that they have different purposes in this plan?"

"That's one possibility," Bruce started to think over the different roles each could play in the unknown plan." But to know what those could be we would need to know more about what they were planning."

"And do you have any ideas for what that could be?" Alfred questioned, unsure of what it could be himself.

"Not yet, but that's what I intend to find out," Bruce decided firmly, heading off to get dressed, and when he came back headed for the Batmobile." I think it's time Batman started his investigation,"

"I wish you luck, sir," Alfred called, and Batman was off.

.oOo.

Barbara was in her room, just lying on her bed and trying not to worry about Dick, but that was proving almost impossible. When her dad gotten home, he had explained what had happened to Dick, and she wasn't pleased in the slightest. She had been even less pleased to learn that they didn't have any communication with the kidnapers except for a tape that was played over the news. And they couldn't even trace a signal! And if that hadn't been bad enough, the ransom was worse. No, these guys couldn't ask for something normal, not even some outrageous dollar amount. Instead, they had asked for a person. And not just any person, but the Boy Wonder himself. That's right, Robin! As in partner to the Batman. Yeah, that Robin. So Barbara felt that she had plenty of reasons to worry.

And it wasn't just her friends' safety that she was questioning, but some of her morals as well. At first she had been willing to turn the kid over. He would be fine, right? He would be able to get out of it, that is if Batman didn't find him first. Either way, Robin could probably handle himself better than some mathlete, even if that specific mathlete had a background in acrobatics. And besides, Robin dealt with guys like this almost every night, right?

But then again, Robin was just a kid. He looked about the same age as Dick, if not younger. And lots of villains would love to get their hands on Robin, and she was willing to bet that he had been kidnapped himself, and probably had injuries to prove it. Even when he went out stop some psycho from wreaking havoc across the city, he could fight back, and he would usually be able to call for back up. But Barbara knew if he turned himself in they would strip him of all of his weapons, and make sure that Robin didn't try anything by threatening Dick. And then there was the possibility that they wouldn't even let Dick and the other hostages go. There were so many unknowns in the situation, including who was really behind it and what kind of resources they had.

So she continued to feel conflicted on how the situation should be dealt with. Robin could go in and try to get Dick out, or they could wait for the police to come up with a solution. But she didn't know how long they had, and after watching the video, it didn't look like they would wait forever. The more she thought about it, the more she didn't like the options, whether that was doing something right now or waiting for a good plan while testing their time limit.

Barbara looked at her clock. It was around ten pm, and her dad still wasn't home. He had said that he wanted to speak with Batman since Robin was now involved, so she didn't know when he would be back. She wanted to wait up for him, and maybe get some news on Dick, but it had been a long day and she really just wanted to crawl into bed and forget about everything that happened today, even if it was just for a few hours. And so she did, just for a few hours.

.oOo.

When Dick next woke up, the first thing that he noticed was that he was no longer on a floor. The next thing he realized was that he didn't really remember falling asleep, but soon it was all flooding back to him. The kidnapping. The drugs. The video. The pain. And then he remembered hearing his captors talking about needing to move. They gave him something; a sedative, and a good one at that. He could still feel its effects trying to lull him back into oblivion, but his judgment told him otherwise.

So Dick tried to focus on his surroundings. He was lying on a cot in a cold, dark room. He noticed that he was no longer blind folded and that his gag was gone. His hands were still bound painfully behind him, and his ankles were also tied together. He was about to test to see if he would be able to get out of them when he heard someone approach the door.

"Ah, you're up," the masked man observed, closing the door behind him. Dick watched carefully as he carried a bag over to his bed." Hungry?"

"No thanks," Dick said, looking down at the food inside of the bag that the man was showing him in distrust.

"Are you just not going to eat or drink anything?" the man asked.

Dick didn't answer, and he was trying to keep up a good glare, but then a round of coughs hit him that he couldn't suppress. Luckily, he was able to get them under control again, and they sat in silence for a little longer.

The man let out a sigh and closing the paper bag again before continuing," It's not poison, you know. If we wanted to poison you, we wouldn't give you an option,"

Dick still didn't answer, only making the man more aggravated.

"You feeling okay? You don't look that great," the man commented, and if Dick was being honest, he really wasn't. There was more than one reason he wasn't eating what they were offering him. The one was based off of a previous kidnapping that involved being poisoned by what they were feeding him and it had almost killed him, and the other was that he was pretty sure he was going to puke, and so he felt like food wasn't the best idea.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Dick said quietly as he paled slightly. The man's eyes went wide, and he quickly dumped the bag's contents onto the bed and held it out just in time as Dick threw up into it. Since he hadn't really eaten anything all day and had already thrown up twice before this, it wasn't much, which Dick was relived about.

"Better?" he asked after Dick had stopped dry heaving, but Dick just glared at him in response.

"It was probably just the sedative, they can make you nauseas," he continued to explain.

"You didn't give me more chloroform, did you?" Dick questioned, more in shock than anything else. Didn't they know about chloroform poisoning? And if someone else was behind this, why would they let them use that?

"No," the man started as he rubbed the back of his neck." We were told to use something else."

"Yeah, probably because you can get chloroform poisoning form using too much of it," Dick told him. He could tell by the way the masked man sounded that they had gotten in trouble for using the chloroform, and so he started to wonder how they even got it and why they would use it if they had sedatives.

"But you had a bad reaction to the chloroform too, didn't you," the man noticed, and Dick nodded. Sedatives always made him feel sick, and when he got higher dosages all at once there was a bigger chance that he would actually get sick.

Dick jumped a little when he heard something open. Looking up, he saw that it was a window on the door.

"The other guys are here, so if you're done we can go," the other masked man explained.

"Right," the man stood up from the bed and then he left the room, leaving Dick alone once more.

He listed as he heard to new people talk to the others outside the door for a while. He decided to take their distraction to test his restraints, but they wouldn't budge. He decided he could at least try to make himself more comfortable, so he started to twist around until his hands were in front of him. It didn't take long, and he was able to do it silently. With his hands now in front of him, he put himself in a more comfortable sitting position and waited for it to be silent again. That was when he heard coughing, only this time it wasn't from him, and instead it was form someone outside.

"You okay?" the first masked man asked.

"Fine," the second masked man said after he finished coughing.

"It sounds like you're coming down with something," a new voice commented.

"Maybe you picked up on whatever the kid has," the first masked man suggested.

"Probably, but I'll get over it, no big deal," and with that, a smile appeared on Dick's face. He felt a little proud that he was able to inflict his illness upon one of his kidnappers.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think? Was the flashback a bad idea, or did you like it? And what about Alfred helping Bruce come up with ideas? I always liked seeing Alfred helping him, so I thought I would try to do that, but I hope I didn't make the thing too OOC. For Babs I based some of her character off of The Batman, same with Alfred since we didn't see much of either of them in season one. So next chapter will have a bit more action, maybe I'll have Batman talk with the team, would you guys like that? And then did you guys like how Dick is slowly infecting them? I don't know about this chapter, but others I'm not too sure about, so I would love to hear some of your input. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate you guys sticking with the story :)<strong>

**Special thanks to: thebibliophileshavethephonebox, 1Bat-A-Rang1, chibihyu, Chipmunk Superfan, Pirate-Spy-Demigod-Wizard, milagrosXD, Ladnik, smartypants023, ImnIslandGirl, apple-06, ItzAGoodThing, Flame Shado, Just. me. and. nobody. else, A Small Voice, Triscribe, Anonymous-Nerds-Unite, GenderBender25, Butterfly Crown, Mickey's Girl, Bethisafan77, IndiaMoore, Justkindaannoyed, The Shadow Keeper, mortalathena, IrisLillyRose , and PenguinLover28 for the follows, favorites, and lovely reviews, they seriously mean so much to me!**

**Justkindaannoyed: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it :)**

**PenguinLover28: Don't worry about it, sorry for the late update. I loved it, too, it's just such a cool concept. And you might've meant this, but Dick did know who Artemis was, and he was a total troll about it XD**

**So life is crazy and haven't had time to write, but now I'm on break and so I should supposedly have more time. I'm also really tired, so sorry for any typos or if this entire thing is completely incoherent. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Years :)**

**Until next time**

**-TheImaginativeFox **

**(reviews?)**


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